A guest blog by Georgina Parsons RVN GradCertAVN and Sam Mumford RVN of the National Union of Registered Veterinary Nurses
Based on the 2019 RCVS survey1 of the veterinary nurse profession, 96.8% of veterinary nurses identify as female, but is the industry designed for women to thrive in? Change can come in the form of collective bargaining and solidarity. The National Union of Registered Veterinary Nurses (NURVN) wants to be the voice of the collective in order to better the profession for all and tackle the issues that veterinary nurses face on a daily basis, particularly the additional problems that come with being a woman in practice.
Who are the women behind the NURVN?
The NURVN is a trade union exclusively for veterinary nurses formed in August 2022. We have a board of four female RVNs; Nadia Khan RVN, Georgina Parsons RVN GradCertAVN, Sam Mumford RVN and Rebecca Ratcliffe RVN. We are all active in practice with varying professional experiences and home lives. We fully understand the issues in practice because we are living it too. Our vision is to create a sustainable industry in which the RVN title is respected and protected- creating an environment in which nurses are united in the goal of empowering each other in recognising our own worth.
What issues do we want to tackle?
Over a third of veterinary nurses in the UK have one or more dependent children1. Our President, Nadia, and our General Secretary, Sam, are both working mothers with young children at home. Based on an internal survey conducted by the NURVN, 53% of practices do not offer enhanced maternity pay but 65% of respondents said that maternity benefits would influence their decision when choosing their place of work. We believe that better maternity packages are likely to create a more sustainable industry.
54% of respondents said that working in a hospital or referral environment would not be a viable option as a parent, with 71% saying that rotating shift patterns and full-time hours are not suitable for family life. Many nurses are the second income earners of the household, meaning that they are the ones who need to take time off for childcare purposes and many practices do not offer dependent leave for times of illness. This can often leave mothers feeling disengaged with the profession and they are likely to search for more family friendly careers. The NURVN wants to support working mothers by pushing for better maternity packages, family friendly rotas and dependent leave alongside supporting and educating parent nurses on their rights in the workplace.
We also want to support the nurses who do not have dependents, but are running their homes on a single income like our Vice President, Georgina. 72% of respondents said that remaining as an RVN active in practice was not a viable option, with 41% giving pay as the reason. A number of nurses have a ‘side hustle’ to supplement their wage or will pick up external locum shifts or overtime in order to make ends meet. The constant overworking and added stress of not being able to keep up with the ever-rising cost of living is going to leave nurses looking for higher paid jobs in other industries.
Specifically for female veterinary nurses, the gender pay gap presents a huge problem veterinary corporations making up four of the ten companies with the highest gender pay gap. In an industry held up on the shoulders of women, it is unbelievable that this is even a problem for us. Our pay does not reflect the hard work we do, and the NURVN wants to empower the nursing industry to recognise that we are worth more and that it is not unreasonable to be a registered professional and expect to be able to live comfortably on our wage.
Our goal
We want to support all nurses and increase the longevity of the profession, but we can only do this if we come together to push for change. Change starts with you, speaking up for the things you need to create a better working environment and the NURVN can support you in having these conversations. The more members we have, the more weight our arguments carry and the more resources we will have to elevate our profession. We believe this starts with our strong women in practice – but we are stronger together. If you want to be a part of the change, email us at contact@thenurvn.com, or find us on Facebook (@thenurvn) and Instagram (@thenurvn_uk). We look forward to having you.
Sam Mumford RVN and Georgina Parsons RVN GradCertAVN are two colleagues and friends working in a small animal, first opinion practice in West Yorkshire. Sam is the mum of two young daughters navigating a family life while balancing working part time in practice, while Georgina runs her own home with three cats. They have a combined experience of 26 years in practice. Georgina founded The National Union of Registered Veterinary Nurses as Vice President with President, Nadia Khan RVN in August 2022. Sam joined as General Secretary shortly after.
References:
- The 2019 Survey of the Veterinary Nurse Profession. RCVS (2019)
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